Salted Fish
by ariescelestial
Summary: On an old fishing boat headed for Shanghai, Alice and Zhuzhen have a conversation.


Zhuzhen leaned against the ship's railing, filling his nostrils with the cold, salty breeze. For once he had put down his staff; it rested under his right foot, which held it from rolling across the deck. The sea was smooth and the smugglers' boat, despite its decrepit appearance, sailed easily through it. Only a short hour ago the waves had slapped the vessel from side to side, and monsters had emerged from the ocean's depths. Even after working as an exorcist for decades, there were still times when the hatred and malice of one soul surprised him with its power--tonight had been one of them.

"Master Zhuzhen?"

He looked back. Alice smiled as her hands played with some of her white-blonde hair. "How's the kid?" asked Zhuzhen.

"He finally fell asleep. Thank you for the potion, it helped settle his stomach."

"I'm surprised he said so."

"Well, he didn't," Alice admitted. "But you could tell."

As Zhuzhen shook his head and chuckled, Alice stepped up to join him by the railing.

"And why aren't you in bed, missy?" Zhuzhen quipped.

"Couldn't sleep." She hugged her arms and sighed. Her eyes gazed out over the calm sea. "It's so peaceful...it's strange, in a way."

"Nothing strange about it. Both Li Li and Sea Mother are at rest now." Zhuzhen pursed his lips. He was glad Sea Mother's spirit had found Nirvana, but at the same time it was a shame to lose such a fine exorcist.

Alice looked down to where moonlight illuminated the dark waters. "I wish I could have helped both of you more, in the exorcism."

"You did your part. Sea Mother likely would have died no matter what we did. She was exhausted."

"I know," she answered, nodding. "She stayed up the whole night taking care of me." She paused and tilted her head, following each small, luminous ripple. "I wonder how she could have done it."

"Taking care of you?"

"Over ten people died from Li Li's curse. And she watched over each one of them before they died, doing her best to help them, even though she couldn't take away their pain." She shook her head. "I just don't see...how a person could face that, again and again and again."

Zhuzhen turned away from the sea to regard Alice. She was a powerful healer, a demon eyes...but she was also young, and still inexperienced. Had she ever been asked to heal someone who was beyond saving, or had she been sheltered from that pain by her father?

"I'm sure it was agonizing for her," he said slowly. "I think the only way she got through it is because she knew everyone else was depending on her to. If she had shirked in her duties, it would have devastated the people of Dalian."

The only answer from the girl standing next to him was a small nod. She was uncertain about something, seeming to hover between two possibilities as she swayed on the balls of her feet, thinking.

"Alice, do you want to be a healer?" She said she had been traveling with her father, learning to be an exorcist and a healer, for years...given her young age, it seemed unlikely she had made the choice herself. At the very least, her parents would have strongly influenced her decision.

"Of course. I believe I was given this power by God for a reason."

The answer was too pat for that to be the source of her uncertainty, and Zhuzhen tried again: "And if you lost faith in your God?"

For a second he thought he had offended Alice, because she turned to him with wide eyes and a mouth opened to protest. Then she shut her mouth and looked at the ground. "Ummm. I don't think I would, Master Zhuzhen. But if I did..."

"And if you did?" he prompted when she fell silent.

She lifted her eyes to meet his. "I can't just leave someone in pain." Though the boat still rocked on the waters, her own swaying had stopped as she settled on her feet. "And, even if I can't heal their injuries, I can be by their side and do my best to comfort them. Li Li..." She shook her head. "No one should have to suffer alone."

Zhuzhen nodded. "It is bad enough to suffer, but it is hellish to suffer alone." And sometimes there were not any physical wounds when a person was in need of healing.

The Adept's mind drifted to Yuri, sleeping below; he had noticed in Dalian that the young man seemed to have much more difficulty fusing than his father had ever encountered, but when he asked if anything troubled him, the brusque response was 'you try having three souls in your head' and to leave him alone, only phrased more rudely. Perhaps Yuri would be more open with Alice.

"I think with more experience, Alice, you could be a fine healer." And then a loud yawn escaped Zhuzhen's mouth, though he had been trying to hold it in.

Alice laughed. "I hope so, Master Zhuzhen. But it's getting late, isn't it? A healer needs to rest, too."

He smiled faintly as he followed her below deck to where they were sleeping. Yes, they would need their rest. He was certain they would go through many trials in the days ahead.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The sad thing is, I started this a bit over half a month ago after asking the regulars at gaiaonline's Shadow Hearts thread for suggestions on a oneshot.

Six weeks for two pages. Dang.

The original suggestion was to do something about Zhuzhen and Sea Mother, but after thinking about it I decided to do a conversation that started about Sea Mother and then went to other topics.


End file.
